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If you like the idea of the reputation feature suggested in the comments, why not share some thoughts on it on this thread?
Hello folks, I'd like to talk about something that concerns me. There have been quite a lot of people who have mentioned the Aywas community has not felt the same and has seemed, almost... colder and ruder.
In the beginning, we all knew each other from a small handful of common sites. We recently passed 30,000 users - so we've grown a whole bunch from the original beta testers, and people from all kinds of sites have joined and made Aywas their home.
With more people, the original family feel gets diluted. I suppose that happens when you have so many people coming in. We can, however, all work together on that.
First thing is, for those of you coming from more aggressively moderated sites, you may not know that the moderators are all really, really nice people. If someone rubs you the wrong way or behaves disrespectfully to you, our staff is always here to help. We've seen a large number of these sort of reports lately and we encourage you to keep reporting. We want to help!
Second thing is, we have always required that members be mature and respectful - it's a staple of our TOS . It's kind of awkward phrasing, but I think it's still a decent description - to show respect to other members, the staff that works hard to entertain you, and the site as a whole.
This seems to be slipping. More and more, there are people who are not acting mature and/or respectful. We've seen a larger increase of individuals who express damaging and hurtful comments in public places, on and off site. This also contributes to an overall feeling of coldness and breeds pain and anger, because whether it's here or not, it still affects all of the community in the way that it infects. We encourage thoughtful feedback, but we don't tolerate bashing and mindless insults, whether here or elsewhere. That hurts our community feel, and does not represent a mature and respectful attitude.
While we want to welcome everyone, maturity and respect is necessary to keep our community thriving, and keep that family feel we all yearn for. The best way to ensure this is to report inappropriate behavior and contribute ideas, not venom and hatred.
That said, please remember that Aywas is a private website. It's one of the things that sets us apart from other ones - our ability to filter registrations. That doesn't end at the sign up page, though. We want a community full of awesome people who have fun together and are, of course, mature and respectful. Please remember to be mindful of how you treat others, the staff, and the site - everywhere. Our community does not welcome hurtful attitudes, and we as staff will step up and do our best in preserving the purpose of our filter.
Your reports are the most helpful in aiding us there - whether it's someone speaking in chatspeak or someone who acts disrespectfully toward you, site, or staff, your reports can make or break our efforts.
I think our community needs healing, but I know we can do it. :) Thanks to all for reading. Now let's do our best!
Posted by Jack
(#1) on Mon Sep 5, 2011 8:33pm
- RurouniKenshinGirl
(#13815)
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Posted on: Tue Sep 6, 2011 4:30am
I myself never had a problem with rude people. Most of the people I've ever been in contact with have been very nice. But I'm glad you wont let mean and rude people ruin this amazing site for the other users who actually respect the T.O.S.
- ★Zanthia★
(#25090)
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Posted on: Tue Sep 6, 2011 5:25am
Aywas is the kindast place I have ever been. Online AND in RL.
Having said that, I was not around when Aywas was a small community so I cannot compare that with the modern Aywas. Although I have not felt any of this rude comments or bashing yet nor have I seen any. But that maybe just me,
I kinda see things through rose coloured eyes X)
- Shadowhawk
(#14984)
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Posted on: Tue Sep 6, 2011 5:39am
It's heartening to know that the owner and admin actually care about the state of the community on the site and don't just treat it like a cash cow. I, personally, haven't met with any hostility, of any kind, but I have heard of a few instances. That you are working to fix these issues speaks volumes for your skills and abilities as admin and owner. :3
- teamfargo
(#23124)
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Posted on: Tue Sep 6, 2011 6:03am
In general, I do like the reputation feature, but I also find that it becomes a popularity contest. There are sites where you can simply buy fame/your reputation from other users for a nominal fee and quite often, strangers trade for no reason. Even worse is the opposite.
I would hate to see that start to happen since the site IS getting bigger.
Would it be viable to have a mod whose sole job is to look for kindness and rudeness? You can submit a message to them to tell of someone's generosity? They give out rep points or maybe random things such as a wearable no trade item?
- Mud and Taz
(#1236)
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Posted on: Tue Sep 6, 2011 7:22am
Aywas is by far the best site I have yet been too but it still has the flaw that I have encountered everywhere else. One idiot can ruin it. Everyplace I have played, on the forums you get one person that gets pissed and reports you and you get warnings and bannings because of it. Even here I have gotten warned because someone goes whining that they don't like what I am saying. BTW I follow the rules of the forums! This has resulted in me refusing to post anything anywhere anymore and I don't see that changing with the growing community.
- PeachKitten
(#19639)
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Posted on: Tue Sep 6, 2011 8:19am
I know I haven�t been here even half a year yet, but when I signed up I jumped right in and started working with arts and stuff. I saw this place as a very open and welcoming community, I simply got hooked making new friends along the way. I love this place.
- creepcoral
(#28798)
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Posted on: Tue Sep 6, 2011 8:51am
I'm glad that Aywas actually cares about having a good community. C: I left a petsite before that I otherwise really liked just because there were so many rude users -- and nothing was being done about it. So, it's good to know that it won't happen here!
- ✥crazedninja✥
(#29642)
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Posted on: Tue Sep 6, 2011 9:00am
I am a newbie and so far the aywas community has seemed very friendly to me with very few rude or cold people. It is very interesting that the staff here are so kind and caring about the welfare of the game because on other pet sites I am on, the staff are just so ignorant and snobbbish that you didn't feel welcomed at all when you joined.
Here, I have felt welcome and the staff and players are very nice. I really think I will enjoy being on this site!
- Comrade
(#155)
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Posted on: Tue Sep 6, 2011 9:19am
Reputation systems never really appealed to me, the fact that we are all supposed to be generally nice to each other on the forums is enough for me. that said I have no real objectin against it so i guess if it's what the majority wants then fine.
I really haven't noticed a decline in the community though and I think the people who have tend to overthink these sites, the only real negative I have is against the people who I have noticed lately making forums where they aggressively push their way of playing onto everyone else (and sadly getting their way in some cases). Even so this still has to be one of the most generous and intelligent pet site communities out there.
Posted on: Tue Sep 6, 2011 4:08am
If there is a reputation feature, please, for the love of Admin, let it be anonymous.
^ I like the idea of a rep feature but I do not like this particular idea. Someone should not be able to anonymously dock points from users they don't like or add points to boost up friends without giving reasons or owning up with explanations.